Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
z~z~
The present invention relates to a device Lor
lighting ver~ rapidl~ charcoal briquettes by using natural
convection of air.
More particularly, the invention relates to an
improved charcoal briquettes lighter which is safe, compact,
inexpensive and easy to manufacture, and which permits to
obtain in a minimum of time and a maximum of security and
money-saving, a certain quantity of white-hot (incandescent)
charcoal briquettes.
Up to now, many types of charcoal briquettes
lighters have been brought on the market. However, none
has really taken over the whole market as it normally
would be expected for such an innovation, because every
type of charcoal lighter does not solve as a whole the
well known problems of those people who.like to cook on
charcoal.
The object of the present invention is to provide
an improved type of charcoal briquettes lighter which
globally answers the needs and expectations of the
potential users and presents deinite advantages over all
the known devices of the same type.
More particularly, the object of the present
invention provide a charcoal briquettes lighter which
permits its user, especially the one who likes to eat on
his patio, to get very rapidly and without close watch, a
good charcoal fire, using only newspaper to light it. In
so doing, it permits the user to save on purchase of
expensive lighting products which may be dangerous, such as
gas, petroleum and even electric device.
In accordance with the invention, the so requested
capacity to activate rapidly the combustion of charcoal
briquettes, is obtained using a cone-shaped deflector
provided at the bottom of the device. This cone-shaped
deflector initiates the propulsion of air inside the
cylinder, which propulsion creates a strong turbulence,
and thus improves the combustion.
~: t~
~z~
The efficiency o~-the~roposed invention is such
that the user may obtain, within 15 minutes, 2 or 3 dozens
oE white-hot charcoal brique-t-tes, ready for cooking.
Moreover, the device may work in big winds, or without wind,
and makes it even possible to light damp charcoal briquettes.
The charcoal briquettes lighter according to the
invention is of the type comprising an upright cylinder
open at both ends and a supporting grate fixed to the cylinder
close to the bottom end thereof.This:Lic~hter ischaracterized
in that it further comprises supporting legs extending
downwardly at the bottom end of the cylinder to support
the cylinder with its bottom end in spaced-apart position
above a supporting surface, and a cone-shaped,imperforate
deflector centrally positioned under the bottom end of the
cylinder to increase the draft of the cylinder when the
lighter is in use.
As can be understood, the present invention
provides a practical system to light charcoal briquettes.
Users often recriminate against systems which are not
very practical.
In addition to its rapidity to light briquettes
and its practical use, the device according to the invention
is compact,thus making its storage easier; it is light to
handle; and it is made in one block, without removable pieces
that usually may wear or be lost. Furthermore,the device
is safe.
Contrary to most of the other devices already
proposed, the device according to the invention has a
regular cylinder form, providing an easy transfer of the
briquettes from the cylinder to a barbecue grill.
In fact, the efficiency of the cone-shaped
deflector, which is the essential part of the invention,
is sufficient to avoid the use of a main structure which
would also be cone-shaped with a decreasing diameter from 35 the bottom to the top of the cylinder as most of other
devices of the same type have.
-- 2
~l~Zi;;~3
This decreasing diameter form was designed to
increase the air circuIation, but has the disadvantage of
creating a briquettes jam when the same are transfered
from the decreasing diameter structure to the barbecue
grill.
It is always pleasant to be able to work with a
device when it can be put on a table at arm's length.
The device according to the present invention offers this
possibility without damaging the surrounding surfaces.
The invention, unlike the others of the same
type, has only one receptacle in which is put pellets of
papers, such as pellets made from pages of an old newspaper
(usually the equivalent of 8 pages).
The efficiency of the invention is such that it
does not require addition of newspaper in order to maintain
combustion. For this reason, it is not necessary to have
two different compartments in the cylinder of the device,
as it is in many patents already granted for the same
type of device. Most of these patents have an upper
compartment to hold the br;quettes and an other one, at the
bottom, to permit the introductlon of additional
newspaper. In accordance with the proposed invention,
this operation is useless because the initial supply of
newspaper is sufficient to start the briquettes. The fact
that it is not necessary to add additional newspaper during
the lighting process makes it possible to put newspaper
and charcoal briquettes in the same compartment of the
cylinder.
As the bottom of this single compartment is a few
inches from the briquettes holding surface, it is possible
to use the device safely on a table. This advantage is
also possible due to the efficiency of the cone deflector
which enables the whole system to work with the initial
newspaper supply.
.9L~Ç~21~:3
The lighting can be made through holes on the
cylinder,whichallow aneasy access to the newspaper with a
match.
Another advantage oE the deviee aceording to the
invention is the faet that it is inexpensive and easy to
manufacture. Its basic structural elements are Eew and
- easy to assemble.
Finally, a proper use of the invention whieh may
be used by all those who like to eook on chareoal, leads
to a substantial saving in ehareoal briquettes, in that it
prevents from having to use a big quantity of briquettes.
It also prevents from having an overflow of briquettes to
faeilitate the ignition process or maintain a sufficient
amount of heat, when taking into aceount the faet that the
lighting proeess from one briquette to another may lead to
an irregular fire radiation, which ean only be compensated
by increasing the quantity of briquettes.
The present invention, due to its capaeity to
insure a permanent air eireulation in the eylinder, enables
to activate the eombustion of the briquettes and to obtain,
in a short time, a buneh of briquettes whieh radiate a
maximal quantity of B.T.U.'s. Then, it is normal,
althoughthisit isnot necessary with the invention, to
pile 3 or 4 xows of briquettes inthe barbecue gri.ll. A
single row of briquettes is sufficient to maintain a good
cooking temperature, when these briquettes are lit with
the eone-eonvected system accordillg to the invention.
The invention will be better understood with
reference to the following description of a preferred
embodiment thereof, taken in eonneetion with the attached
drawings wherein the single figure shows a general
perspective view of a charcoal briquettes lighter according
to the invention.
The lighter shown in the single figure comprises
hollow eylinder 1 made of steel of 26 gauges. This cylinder
4--
~Z~Z3
which has a diameter of 7 inches and a height of 12 inches,
is formedfrom a metal sheet, fastened up in 2.
The cylinder 1 has three holes 3 each having a
1" diameter, punched at angles of 120 from each other,
so as to be equally spaced apart along the circumference
of the cylinder. These holes are used to light a
briquette lighting material such as pellets of paper that
are inserted into the cylinder prior to inserting the
briquettes. The holes are places 3 inches over a supporting
grate 4 which is used for holding the paper pellets and the
briquettes inside the cylinder. The grate 4 which preferably
has a surface perforated at 75~, can be made of 20 gauges
steel and is fixed to the cylinder 1 at 2 inches from
the bottom thereof.
By strictly observing the above mentioned specifi-
cations in manufacturing the lighter according to the
invention, maximal efficiency can be obtained for this
device~
An air inlet of 1 1/2" is provided between the
bottom of the cylinder 1 and the ground. To improve the
efficiency of this air inlet and of the whole device,
a cone-shaped deflector 10 is provided in the gap where
the air is allowed to rush in the cylinder 1 at the
bottom thereof. The cone 10 of which the angle ~ is
of about 60, gives a way to the air entering the cylinder
1 and generates a pressure. At the same time, -the cylinder
1 draws by air convection the air exactly in the same
way as in a chimney.
As aforesaid, the supporting grate 4 is preferably
perforated on at least 75~ of its surface to facilitate
this circulation of air in the cylinder 1.
~Ihen the paper pellets are lighted and light in
turn the briquettes, they fall down to at the bottom of
the cylinder onto the supporting grate 4. This also
improves the air draft.
~1~21~3
A steel handle 8 of 16 hauges can be fixed to
the cylinder 1 to make it possible to transfer the
briquettes from the cylinder to a barbecue grill. The
steel handle is offset towards the bottom o the cylinder
and covered by a heat insuIating material such as a
1 inch wood dowel cut in two pieces 9 that are fixed
together by two screws. This steel handle makes it
easier to carry rapidly and saEly the incandescent
briquettes and to pour them into a barbecue grill.
The cylinder 1 is supported by three legs 5 of
16 hauges, folded towards the exterior of the cylinder 1
in order to ensure stability to the device. On each leg,
a bracket 6 is fixed in order to centralize and stabilize
the cone-shaped deflector 10. These brackets are made of
steel of 26 gauges.
A tray 7 made of 24 gauges steel can be placed
under the whole device to hold the falling ashes, to
maintain cleanliness and to prevent damaging of surrounding
surfaces. This tray may advantageously be provided with
a projecting edge 11 to improve its ashes retaining
efficiency.
All the parts of the device can be assembed by
spot welding 12.
The above described charcoal briquettes lighter
was tested. These tests have demonstrated that it works
rapidly, it operates by natural convection of air and it
requires only pellets made from old newspaper to start
the combustion process.
The lighter's cylinder plays the role of a
chimney, creating a dxaw effect to activate combustion.
As the initial quantity of burning material is sufficient
for the whole process, there is no need to add additional
burning material during the process.
The initial quantity of newspaper is placed
directly under the briquettes. This also increases the
-- 6
~1~2~Z3
rapidity of the system.
The cone-shaped deflector at the bottom of the
device hastens the flow of air in the cylinder and activate
the combustion, thus improving the efficiency of the device.
The holes punched in the cylinder facilitate a rapid and easy
lighting of the paper.
